Prince unveils new track 'Boyfriend', but charges fans 57p to hear it

Prince has unveiled a new track titled 'Boyfriend', but is charging fans 57p ($0.88) to listen to it.

The singer and pop icon has been posting new music on his clandestine 3rdeyegirl website since last year. The track follows the release of 'Rock And Roll Love Affair' in December 2012, single 'Screwdriver', which was released on February 11 and another song titled 'Breakfast Can Wait', which was put out earlier this month.

The Twitter account for 3rdeyegirl has also linked to a teaser video introducing three musicians before showing the cryptic message ' Live Out Loud, Coming In February, 2013' – watch it below.

Last week, Princeupset some of his fans by charging them to see the new video for 'Screwdriver'. Fans wanting to view the promo had to download the video at a cost of £1.13. Though it is standard practise for musicians to charge fans to download their music videos, Prince is unique in that the download is the only way to see the 'Screwdriver' video – it is not being hosted on any of the usual platforms such as You Tube or Vevo. Similarly, 'Boyfriend' is not being streamed anywhere.

Prince recently finished up a series of intimate rehearsal gigs in Minneapolis after he reportedly booked six dates at an tiny jazz club to audition for a new drummer and host a jam session for his band. The release of new music, plus Prince's acknowledgement that he is auditioning a new live drummer has sparked rumours that he'll be heading out on a wider tour this year, although thus far there are no dates scheduled.

Meanwhile, Prince made a surprise appearance at this year's Grammy Awards on Sunday (February 10), appearing to hand the award for Record of the Year to Gotye.